Contents

October 16 - In the Battles of Svenstrup, Skipper Clement's peasant army, re-enforced with professional soldiers from Count Christoffer, defeats the army of the Jutland nobility, that had been sent to crush the revolt.

December 18 - A royal army led by Johan Rantzau defeats Clement's men at Aalborg where they have sort refuge. Clement is captured a few days later.

1535

June 11 - In the Battle of Øksnebjerg, on the island of Funen, Rantzau decisively defeats the rest of Count Christoffer's army.

1.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government

2.
Frederick I of Denmark
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Frederick I was the King of Denmark and Norway. His name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish and Norwegian and he was the penultimate Roman Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformation. As King of Norway, Frederick is most remarkable in never having visited the country and was never being crowned King of Norway, therefore he was styled King of Denmark, the Vends and the Goths, elected King of Norway. Frederick was the son of the first Oldenburg King Christian I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Soon after the death of his father, the underage Frederick was elected co-Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in 1482, in 1490 at Fredericks majority, both duchies were divided between the brothers. In 1500 he had convinced his brother King John to conquer Dithmarschen, a great army was called from not only the duchies, but with additions from all of the Kalmar Union for which his brother briefly was king. In addition, numerous German mercenaries took part, the expedition failed miserably, however, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt, where one third of all knights of Schleswig and Holstein lost their lives. In 1523 Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was forced by disloyal nobles to abdicate and it is not certain that Frederick ever learned to speak Danish. After becoming king, he continued spending most of his time at Gottorp, in 1524 and 1525 Frederick had to suppress revolts among the peasants in Jutland and Scania who demanded the restoration of Christian II. The high point of the came in 1525 when Søren Norby. He raised 8000 men who besieged Kärnan, a castle in Helsingborg, Fredericks general, Johann Rantzau, moved his army to Scania and defeated the peasants soundly in April and May 1525. Frederick played a role in the spread of Lutheran teaching throughout Denmark. In his coronation charter, he was made the protector of Roman Catholicism in Denmark. In that role, he asserted his right to select bishops for the Roman Catholic dioceses in the country, Christian II had been intolerant of Protestant teaching, but Frederick took a more opportunist approach. For example, he ordered that Lutherans and Roman Catholics share the same churches, in 1526, when Lutheran Reformer Hans Tausen was threatened with arrest and trial for heresy, Frederick appointed him his personal chaplain to give him immunity. Starting in 1527, Frederick authorized the closure of Franciscan houses and monasteries in 28 Danish cities, during his reign, Frederick was skillful enough to prevent all-out warfare between Protestants and Roman Catholics. In 1532 he succeeded in capturing Christian II who had tried to make a political come-back in Norway, Frederick died on 10 April 1533 in Gottorp, at the age of 61, and was buried in Schleswig Cathedral. Upon Fredericks death, tensions between Roman Catholics and Protestants rose to a pitch which would result in the Counts Feud

3.
Christian III of Denmark
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Christian III reigned as king of Denmark from 1534 until his death and Norway from 1537 until his death. During his reign, Christian established Lutheranism as the religion within his realms as part of the Protestant Reformation. Christian was the eldest son of future king Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg and he was born at Gottorf Castle which Frederick I had made a primary residence. In 1514, when he was just ten years old, Christians mother died, four years later, his father remarried to Sophie of Pomerania. In 1523, Frederick I was elected king of Denmark in the place of his nephew, the young prince Christians first public service after his father became king was gaining the submission of Copenhagen, which stood firm for the fugitive Christian II. As stadtholder of the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig in 1526, Christians earliest teacher, Wolfgang von Utenhof, and his Lutheran tutor, the military general Johann Rantzau, were both zealous reformers who had an influence on the young prince. At their urging, while traveling in Germany in 1521, he made present at the Diet of Worms to hear Martin Luther speak. The prince made no secret of his Lutheran views and his outspokenness brought him into conflict, not only with the Roman Catholic Rigsraad, but also with his cautious and temporizing father. At his own court at Schleswig he did his best to introduce the Protestant Reformation and he made the Lutheran Church the State Church of Schleswig-Holstein with the Church Ordinance of 1528. After his fathers death, in 1533, Christian was proclaimed king at an assembly in Rye, Christian II had supported both the Roman Catholics and Protestant Reformers at various times. In opposition to King Christian III, Count Christopher was proclaimed regent at the Ringsted Assembly and this resulted in a two-year civil war, known as the Counts Feud, between Protestant and Catholic forces. Count Christopher had the support of most of Zealand, Scania, the Hanseatic League, Christian III found his support among the nobles of Jutland. In 1534, peasants under Skipper Clement began an uprising in northern Jutland, an army of nobles and their vassals assembled at Svendstrup and suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of the peasants. Clement and his army fled north, taking refuge inside the walls of Aalborg, in December, Rantzaus forces breached the walls and stormed the city. In the following days 3,000 people were massacred and the city was plundered by the Protestant German mercenaries, Clement managed to escape the slaughter, but was apprehended a few days later. He was tried and beheaded in 1535, with Jutland more or less secure, Christian next focused on gaining control of Scania. He appealed to the Protestant Swedish king Gustav Vasa for help in subduing the rebels, Gustav immediately obliged by sending two armies to ravage central Scania and Halland. The peasants suffered a defeat at Loshult in Scania

4.
Count's Feud
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The Counts Feud, also called the Counts War, was a civil war that raged in Denmark in 1534–36 and brought about the Reformation in Denmark. The Counts Feud takes its name from the Protestant Count Christopher of Oldenburg, after Frederick Is death in 1533, the Jutland nobility proclaimed his son, then Duke Christian of Gottorp, as King under the name Christian III. Meanwhile, Count Christoffer organized an uprising against the new king, demanding that Christian II be set free, supported by Lübeck and troops from Oldenburg and Mecklenburg, parts of the Zealand and Skåne nobilities rose up, together with cities such as Copenhagen and Malmø. The headquarters for the revolt came to be in Aalborg, a large number of manors were burned down in northern and western Jutland. On 10 August 1534, Count Christoffer accepted Skåne for Christian IIs rule, the month before, Christoffer was heralded as regent on Christian IIs behalf by the Zealand Council in Ringsted. An army of nobles under the leadership of Niels Brock and Holger Rosenkrantz was defeated at the Battle of Svenstrup on 16 October 1534, Christian III, in the meantime, forced a peace with Lübeck, from which great reinforcements could be freed up to fight against the rebels. On 18 December, Rantzaus troops stormed the city, and it fell, at least 2,000 people are thought to have lost their lives in the storming of the city and in the plundering of the following days. For his part, Skipper Clement, badly wounded, managed to escape, Skipper Clement was later sentenced to death by the judicial council in Viborg and executed in 1536. Fortune did not fare well for the supporters of the Catholic faith. Later, a Swedish army invaded Halland, which was destroyed by fire, some of the Scanian nobles sided with the Swedes, but Tyge Krabbe in Helsingborg Castle supported Count Christoffer. In January 1535, the Swedes and the army of nobles advanced on Helsingborg, with that, Denmark east of the Sound was lost for Count Christoffer. After the victory at Aalborg, Rantzau brought his troops to Funen, and on 11 June 1535, they fought the Battle of Øksnebjerg, both Copenhagen and Malmø, however, were able to hold out until 1536, when they were forced to capitulate after several months siege. With this, the Counts Feud was officially over, in the aftermath of the feud, the nobles regrouped and healed the rifts the usual way, namely through inter-marriage. One of the most powerful among the Danish nobility in Skåne at this time was the Bille family, the Billes also had six family members on the Council of the Realm and owned castles throughout Denmark and Norway. The Brahe family was one of the first among the nobility to convert to Lutheranism, Tycho Brahes paternal grandfather, whom he was named after, Tyge Brahe of Tosterup in eastern Skåne, was killed 7 September 1523 during the siege of Malmø, fighting for Frederick I. Axel Brahe, the brother of the older Tyge Brahe, served as governor of Scania for a long period, in contrast, the consequences of the peasant uprising cost all parties dearly. Many were forced to purchase their lives with great gifts both to the king and to the nobles. Moreover, the dissatisfactions of the peasants, which had culminated in the uprising of the Counts Feud, were made worse

5.
Johan Rantzau
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Johan Rantzau was a German-Danish general and statesman known for his role in the Counts Feud. Rantzau was born at the castle of Steinburg near Itzehoe into nobility and his family had come into the service of the Danish king after the union between Denmark and the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, but he was loyal to the rulers of the latter. From his early years he sought a career and was educated an officer and a lansquenet. When King Christian II of Denmark in 1523 was overthrown by Frederick I in 1523 and he became a member of the Danish Privy Council as well as governor of the duchies and was the most important of the king’s non-Danish advisors. At the same time he emerged a squire of Holstein, making the house of Breitenburg his entailed estate. Among his military missions was his fight against the Scanian peasant rebellion of 1525 that was bloodily crushed, during these years he also became a devout Protestant, working together with his Danish colleagues on advancing the Lutheran cause. Rantzau became especially notable due to his participation in the Count’s Feud from 1534–1536, together with the Holstein nobility, he supported Christian III in spite of the latter’s desperate situation. Next year he successfully conquered Funen, defeating Count Christopher of Oldenburg’s army at Øksnebjerg, after the war, Rantzau continued being the king’s general and advisor, but he was pushed into the background in Denmark while concentrating on Holstein affairs. However, he went back into service in 1559 as the leader of the conquest of Dithmarschen. As an outstanding figure of history of the 16th century. Earlier historians have called him a brilliant general, loyal to the royal house of Denmark. Rantzau’s son Heinrich Rantzau was an outstanding Holstein cattle lord, governor and his biography of his father is the main source of the latter’s life. He was the great-grandfather of Josias von Rantzau, politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol 5, by Johan Hvidtfeldt. Politikens Danmarkshistorie, vol 6, by Svend Cedergreen Bech, Copenh, media related to Johann Rantzau at Wikimedia Commons

6.
Aalborg
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Aalborg, also spelled Ålborg, is an industrial and university city in the North of Jutland, Denmark. It has an population of 112,194, making it the fourth most populous city in Denmark. With a population of 210,316, the Municipality of Aalborg is the third most populous in the country after Copenhagen, by road Aalborg is 64 kilometres southwest of Frederikshavn, and 118 kilometres north of Aarhus. The distance to Copenhagen is 412 kilometres, the earliest settlements date to around AD700. Aalborgs position at the narrowest point on the Limfjord made it an important harbour during the Middle Ages, architecturally, the city is known for its half-timbered mansions built by its prosperous merchants. Budolfi Church, now a cathedral, dates from the end of the 14th century and Aalborghus Castle, today, Aalborg is a city in transition from a working-class industrial area to a knowledge-based community. A major exporter of grain, cement, and spirits, its business interests include Siemens Wind Power, Aalborg Industries. These companies have become global producers of wind turbine rotors, marine boilers, with its theatres, symphony orchestra, opera company, performance venues, and museums such as Aalborg Historical Museum and the Aalborg Museum of Modern Art, Aalborg is an important cultural hub. The Aalborg Carnival, held at the end of May, is one of the largest festivals in Scandinavia, the major university is the University of Aalborg, founded in 1974, which has more than 17,000 students. Trænregimentet, the Danish regiment for army supply and emergency personnel, is also in Aalborg. Aalborg University Hospital, the largest in the north of Jutland, was founded in 1881. The football club Aalborg BK, established in 1885 and based at Nordjyske Arena, won the Danish Superliga in the 1994–95 season, the 1998–99 season, the 2007–08 season and the 2013–14 season. Other sports associations include the icehockey club Aalborg Pirates, the handball team Aalborg Håndbold, the rugby club Aalborg RK. Aalborg Railway Station, on John F. Kennedys Plads has connected the city to Randers, Aalborg Airport is just 6 kilometres northwest of the city centre, and the E45, a European route from Karesuando, Sweden, to Gela, Italy, passes through Aalborg. The European Commission has concluded that the citizens of Aalborg are the most satisfied people in Europe with their city. The area around the narrowest point on the Limfjord attracted settlements as far back as the Iron Age leading to a thriving Viking community until around the year 1000 in what has now become Aalborg. In the Middle Ages, royal trading privileges, a natural harbour, despite the difficulties it experienced over the centuries, the city began to prosper once again towards the end of the 19th century when a bridge was built over Limfjord and the railway arrived. Aalborgs initial growth relied on heavy industry but its current development focuses on culture, Aalborg traces its history back over a thousand years

7.
Funen
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Funen, with an area of 3,099.7 square kilometres, is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world and it is in the central part of the country and has a population of 466,284. The main city is Odense which is connected to the sea by a seldom-used canal, the citys shipyard, Odense Steel Shipyard, has been relocated outside Odense proper. Funen belongs administratively to the Region of Southern Denmark, from 1970 to 2006 the island formed the biggest part of Funen County, which also included the islands of Langeland, Ærø, Tåsinge, and a number of smaller islands. Funen is linked to Zealand, Denmarks largest island, by the Great Belt Bridge which carries both trains and cars, two bridges connect Funen to the Danish mainland, Jutland. The Old Little Belt Bridge was constructed in the 1930s shortly before World War II for both cars and trains, the New Little Belt Bridge, a suspension bridge, was constructed in the 1970s and is used for cars only. Apart from the city, Odense, all major towns are located in coastal areas. Beginning in the north-east of the island and moving clockwise, they are Kerteminde, Nyborg, Svendborg, Fåborg, Assens, Middelfart, the highest natural point on Funen is Frøbjerg Bavnehøj. Broholm Egeskov Castle Fynske Livregiment Horne Church Hvedholm Castle Korshavn, Denmark Skrøbelev Gods The Funen Village Funen brachteate in the collections of the National Museum of Denmark, official tourist information site for Funen

8.
Frederick II of Denmark
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Frederick II was King of Denmark and Norway and duke of Schleswig from 1559 until his death. Frederick II was the son of King Christian III of Denmark and Norway and he was hailed as successor to the Throne of Denmark in 1542 and of Norway in 1548. As king, he visited Norway in 1585, when he came to Båhus, unlike his father, he was strongly affected by military ideals. Already as a man he made friendship with German war princes. Shortly after his succession he won his first victory with the conquest of Dithmarschen in Schleswig-Holstein by Johan Rantzau during the summer of 1559, from his predecessor, he inherited the Livonian War. In 1560, he installed his younger brother Magnus of Holstein in the Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek, Frederick largely tried to avoid conflict in Livonia and consolidated amicable relations to Ivan IV in the 1562 Treaty of Mozhaysk. As a vassal of Ivan IV of Russia, Magnus was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578. His competition with Sweden for supremacy in the Baltic broke out into open warfare in 1563, the start of the Seven Years War and he tried in vain to conquer Sweden, which was ruled by his cousin, King Eric XIV. It developed into an expensive war of attrition in which the areas of Scania were ravaged by the Swedes. During this war the king led his army personally on the battlefield, the conflict damaged his relationship to his noble councillors, however the Sture Murders of 24 May 1567 by the insane King Eric XIV in Sweden helped stabilize the situation in Denmark. After the war Frederick kept the peace without giving up his attempt of trying to expand his prestige as a naval ruler and his foreign politics were marked by a moral support of the Protestant powers – but at the same time by a strict neutrality. In 1552, Steward of the Realm Peder Oxe had been raised to Councillor of State, during the spring of 1557, Oxe and the King had quarreled over a mutual property exchange. Failing to compromise matters with the king, Oxe had fled to Germany in 1558, however, financial difficulties arose during the stress of the Northern Seven Years War. After state finances collapsed during the years 1566 to 1567, Frederik called Peder Oxe home to address the kingdoms economy, the taking over of Danish administration and finances by the able councillor, provided a marked improvement for the national treasury. Councillors of experience including Niels Kaas, Arild Huitfeldt and Christoffer Valkendorff took care of the domestic administration, subsequently government finances were put in order and Denmarks economy improved. One of the chief expedients of the state of affairs was the raising of the Sound Dues. Oxe, as treasurer, reduced the national debt considerably. This was a period of affluence and growth in Danish history, Frederick II rebuilt Kronborg castle in Elsinore between 1574 and 1585

9.
Niels Kaas
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Niels Kaas was a Danish politician who served as Chancellor of Denmark from 1573 until his death. He was influential in the negotiation of the Peace of Stettin and in the upbringing of Christian IV, Kaas also played an important role in the emancipation of Schleswig-Holstein. Kaas belonged to a noble family and his parents were Niels, who died seven months before he was born, and Anne Bjørn, who died when he was five. As a result, Kaas was raised by his uncle Mogens Kaas, the dean of the district of Jelling and he was educated at the Viborg school, where he studied for nine years, concentrating on theology and classical studies. In 1549, Kaas moved to Copenhagen, where he was taken in by theologian Niels Hemmingsen under the direction of his brother Bjørn, under Hemmingsen, he completed his theological, Latin, and historical training. In 1554, Kaas began studying under Philipp Melanchthon in Wittenberg and he also studied in Frankfurt and Leuven, and saw the Battle of St. Quentin in 1557. He returned to Copenhagen in 1557, entering the Danish Chancery three years later and his knowledge of history and Latin became invaluable in negotiations with other countries. During the Northern Seven Years War, Kaas remained in Copenhagen, in 1570, he helped complete the Peace of Stettin. After the death of Chancellor Johan Friis in December 1570, Kaas was appointed Chancellor by the Herredag in May 1573, in 1575, he became the second-most powerful person in the country on the death of the Steward of the Realm, Peder Oxe. Frederick II greatly relied on Kaass negotiating skills, as chancellor, Kaas helped solve the question of succession for John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev and John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg in 1582. He also served as the Chancellor of the University of Copenhagen, many of his writings survive from this time. He took special interest in the research of astronomy under Tycho Brahe, upon the death of Frederick II in 1588, Kaas became the guardian of government. During this time, he dealt with issues, such as the influence wielded by the dowager queen Sophia. Kaas was a supporter of the two, but the Folketing opposed their influence and sought to limit it, in 1593, Kaas helped emancipate the duchies of Schleswig-Holstein from the Holy Roman Empire and secure the rule over them of Fredericks successor, Christian IV. Farewell king, farewell kingdoms and lands, father surely all the world, come, O Jesus, if you will, now I die happy. Dansk biografisk Lexikon, tillige omfattende Norge for tidsrummet 1537–1814

10.
Ludvig Munk
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Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk was born in 1537 in Vejle, and died 8 April 1602 at Nørlund Slot in Funen. He was a Danish official and Count and he was the son of Ludvik Munk, and is also referred to as Ludvig Ludvigsen Munk von Schleswig-Holstein and Ludvig Munk til Nørlund. He was a Junker at the court in 1561. Subsequently he served in the Navy and participated in the Northern Seven Years War both at sea and on land, along with his stepfather Christoffer Sydney, he was taken prisoner in the Battle of Svarterå on 20 November 1565, but soon regained his liberty. He moved to Trondheim, Norway in 1571, and served there as the Lord of Trøndelag, Jemtland, then he relocated to Akershus Fortress in Oslo and served as the Danish-Norwegian Governor-general of Norway from 1577 to 1583. After 1583 he became the District Governor and feudal overlord of, Hedmark, then Lister and his service as a feudal overlord was noted for controversy. While he served as Lord of Trøndelag in 1573, he and his officials exceeded their rights, the residents sent a committee led by Rolv Halvardsson to Copenhagen to appeal Munks judgments to King Frederick II of Denmark, as was their ancient right. Although Munks judgments were overturned, Munk ignored the kings written direction to redress the grievances, lockhart indicates Ludvig Munks Jutland estates were forfeited to the king posthumously. Kirsten bore the king twelve children, among them the famous Countess Leonora Christina Ulfeldt, and Kirstens children intermarried with the nobility of Denmark